It's been a long time since I lived in the Middle East. But the knockout lamb shawarma at Al Arez (about $5, at $1.60 to the English pound) took me back faster than a time machine.

The rotisserie-flamed meat is incredibly juicy, flavorful and tender, with a notable crispy edge. It's served in real-deal pita (not the horrible pita pockets you see in America), and accessorized with yogurt garlic sauce, pickles, tomato, onion and parsley.

Sides are spot-on, like tabbouleh ($7) and bamieh b'zeit ($7), an olive oil-soaked mix of okra, tomatoes and onion, seasoned with coriander.

If there were a Betty Ford Clinic for okonomiyaki addicts, I'd be one of the first patients. Ever since I ate it in Japan -- and ate, and ate -- I've longed for an authentic version in the Valley.

This savory pancake is made from a flour and grated-yam batter mixed with some combination of vegetables, meat and seafood. (You get to choose the ingredients.) It's shaped and crisped up before your eyes on a tabletop griddle, before getting a finishing coat of thick, sweet Worcestershire-type sauce and Japanese mayo, and a final sprinkling of bonito flakes.

It's done just right at Abeno Too, in the heart of London's West End. I'm partial to the Osaka mix, with pork, kimchi and prawns, supplemented with noodles (about $25). Be advised: No reservations, and the prime-time waiting line can stretch down the block.

Borough Market, on the south bank of the Thames between the Millennium and London Bridges, is one of the world's great food centers. Six days a week it's jammed with thousands of people wandering among the innumerable stalls, eying an international range of seafood, cheese, meats, produce and sweets. Most of the stalls offer prepared food, and it's futile to think you can get out of here without succumbing to the temptations.

One of those temptations is the killer chorizo and piquillo pepper sandwich at Brindisa, where there's always a long line. But for a somewhat more relaxed experience, search out the mother ship, Tapas Brindisa, a sit-down restaurant on the edge of the market. It's noisy and bustling, and the Spanish fare is terrific, especially the killer specialty, squid-ink rice with aioli-dabbed fried squid (about $12).

I've written about Four Seasons before, but it deserves repeated praise. That's because it has one of the single best dishes I've ever had in my life: Crispy Aromatic Duck (half-duck, about $26).

Don't believe me? A few years after I stumbled across this place, in the heart of Chinatown, the restaurant critic for the Financial Times wrote a column about the restaurant with the headline, "The Best Roast Duck in the World." An ever-present queue of like-minded diners indicates that we are not the only people who think so.

The poultry is sensationally crispy outside, meaty, tender and juicy inside, and exquisitely seasoned. The waiter cuts and shreds the meat off the bones at the table. Then you pack it into moo-shu pancakes lined with hoisin sauce, adding slivers of scallions and cucumbers as garnish Wow, wow, wow. Note that the dish is listed under "Appetisers." We make it our main dish and dessert, too.